


hot for teacher, pt 1

by orphan_account



Series: Hot for Teacher [1]
Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series, 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: M/M, lame title is lame and overly expected, mentorships, student/teacher romance, technically unethical relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2015-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-13 05:06:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by tumblr: "AU where Apollo goes to a college with a great archaeology program, and he decides to take a course or two just for fun. He meets another kid named Luke, and they get along really well. Luke, Apollo, &Apollo's BFF Clay all have weekly hang out sessions where they all talk about the professor they have crushes on-- Apollo likes the infamous head of the law department Phoenix, Luke the passionate archaeology professor Layton, and Clay the astrophysics professor and former GYAXA employee Starbuck."</p><p>Title is from Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher."</p><p>For my tumblr spouse <a href="http://shanetids.tumblr.com">Shane</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shanetids](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=shanetids).



Late. Luke Triton was going to be so very, very late. And the professor was going to _kill_ him.

Luke grit his teeth and tried not to start running through the too-narrow hallways full of people. He wasn’t the swearing sort, but he was beginning to figure he might have to take it up if the buildings were always this hectic.

“Excuse –“ he started, but was brushed aside by a much taller man, possibly a football (if you could even call the sport that) player. He didn’t even seem to notice that he’d run Luke into the wall, but Luke didn’t dare bring it up. He wasn’t adverse to pointing out rudeness as it occurred in others, but he wasn’t sure he’d make it out of an altercation alive – not with that particular student, anyhow.

Luke inclined his head downward, craned his neck outward, and squinted to try and see the pale and fading numbers that adorned the doors.

It was no use. He’d just have to wait until the din died down. Luke flattened his back against the cold, cinderblock walls and wondered why the air-conditioning was on so high during fall. He huffed and sucked in his breath as disgruntled student after disgruntled student pushed past him, their bookbags slamming painfully into his arms. Luke turned his head to further keep himself out of the line of fire.

And then, just as suddenly as the onslaught had started, it died down. Luke was now alone in a nearly-empty hallway. He breathed a sigh of relief before letting out a strangled sob. He had two minutes to get to class, and he still hadn’t found the correct room.

Luke chewed his bottom lip, trying to decide on a plan of action. Realizing he could deliberate no more, he swallowed his pride and knocked on the closest office door.

A woman with short grey hair looked up at him, and faked a smile. “Oh, hello there! How may I help you?”

Luke held tightly onto his bag, the hand clutching his schedule shaking slightly. “’Ello, miss. I was wond’ring if you could tell me wh- where I could find this room?” Luke held out his schedule so the woman could look at it.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but you’re in the wrong building.”

Luke could feel himself sweating coldly. “A-are you sure? Archaeology 100?”

The woman nodded, her attention already turned back to the papers in front of him. “Yes. Professor Layton always teaches in King Hall. It’s easier, that way, for someone to go and get him if he’s forgotten class has started.”

Luke was shaking, his nerves getting the best of him. He opened his mouth to ask for directions when he heard a voice behind him his, _shit_.

Luke turned to look at the young man behind him. He was blushing in anger, a hand slapped to his face in embarrassment covering up one of his brown eyes. He looked as nervous as Luke felt. “Ma’am,” the boy called, far too loudly this time. The woman looked up from her work and glared. The boy blushed harder and softened his voice, but his resolve didn’t fade. “How do you get to King Hall?”

The woman sighed, all pretence of friendliness gone. She swivelled in her chair and grabbed two paper maps on the shelf behind her desk. She extended her hand toward Luke and the other boy, not even looking at them. “It’s right across the way,” she said. “I’m not sure how you missed it.”

“I didn’t miss it,” Luke burst out. “It’s not the room written on the schedule!”

The woman’s eyebrows narrowed and she opened her mouth to start a rebuttal when Luke felt himself being tugged in the opposite direction. He was able to shake the hand off. “What –“

“We’re going to be late.” It was the other boy, the one with the loud voice. Luke didn’t protest, jogging a bit to catch up with him. He wasn’t much taller than Luke – only by a few inches – but Luke hadn’t had reason to run in quite some time. He was more accustomed to swimming.

Luke hurried after the other boy, trying to remember what the American social mores were – was he supposed to introduce himself, like his father taught him to when solving puzzles? Or was this an awkward interaction, and they were meant to ignore one another, like people did on the Tube?

“I’m Apollo, by the way,” Luke looked up to him, to Apollo, his questioned answered. “Justice. Apollo Justice. Yeah, I know, my name’s kinda dumb.”

“I – I’m Luke Triton,” Luke said. “And I don’t think your name’s dumb at all.” Apollo smiled, smoothing his hair (was that fringe sticking up? Had he styled it that way?) down.

“Th – thanks. Are you a freshman too?” Apollo was avoiding Luke’s gaze, blushing down at the ground.

“Yes, and I’ve just come in from England.”

“Oh! Yeah, I, uh – I figured that. What made you come to America?” Apollo asked, chancing a glance at his newfound friend and trying not to trip over his feet.

Luke was startled – he hadn’t been asked that yet. People always either assumed they knew the answer (“more options over here,” Campus Officer Gumshoe said with pride) or didn’t really care. “Well, you see – th-this is our room!”

Apollo looked through the small window cautiously. The professor, a casually dressed man in in a nice top hat, smiled at them and waved them in. Apollo opened the door, holding it for Luke. Luke’s heart started to race in his throat. Had the professor always been this…debonair? He had only the faintest memories of the man. The rest were stories his father had told him.

“I hope you weren’t too badly lost on your way here. I’m afraid the registrar rather likes to mess with first-years.” The professor indicated two empty chairs one row back from the front. “I don’t believe Mr Terran would have any issues with you sitting beside him?”

Terran, with messy black hair and a bandage on his nose, shook his head. He was smirking at Apollo. “It’s totally fine with me,” he said. Apollo was glaring at the kid, hands fisted and a light blush creeping up his cheeks.

“Good!” The professor beamed, and although his smile was not directed at Luke specifically, he could feel a fluttering in his chest. “Now that we’re all here, why don’t we begin with a puzzle?”


	2. Chapter 2

"God Apollo, you're such a ditz." Terran - Clay was his first name - was now leading them down the hall and out into the courtyard. Unlike Luke and apparently Apollo (whose shoulders were hunched up against his ears in an attempt to make it through the crowd unmolested), Clay was relatively tall with broad shoulders. His voice was pretty booming, but he wasn't exactly yelling. If anything, his boisterous nature reminded Luke of one of the Black Ravens back home in Misthallery. 

He wondered if Professor Layton would remember that particular adventure. It was eight years ago, and Luke knew the Professor's memory was faulty after some terrible accident he'd suffered back in London two years before he and Luke had met. He'd had a young woman with him, then. Luke wondered if she'd followed the Professor to America...

"You okay, Luke?" Clay was standing with his cheeks puffed out, contemplating the food options in front of him. Luke and Apollo both had trays in hand, but Luke couldn't even remember entering the cafeteria.

"Yeah, 'm fine," Luke lied, scooping what looked like mashed potatoes on his plate. 

Apollo frowned, unconvinced, but didn't say anything.

When Luke reached the table, he noticed Clay glancing over to a long table where a group of professors sat, discussing whatever it was professors talked about for fun. Luke tried to ignore the top hat and orange turtleneck, trying to determine which had hold over the other boy's attention.

Clay narrowed his eyes. "Is that who I think it is?" he asked.

"You mean Solomon Starbuck?" Apollo let his backpack drop to the floor as he set his tray down. "Yeah, he works here now. Didn't you know?"

Clay shook his head, returning to his food while keeping one eye on the professor. He looked familiar, somehow...

"Oh!" Luke started. "The HAT-1 Miracle, right?"

Apollo nodded, smirking at Clay's shrug of shoulders. "Clay's had the biggest fanboy hero-worship crush on Starbuck when we were kids." Clay blushed. "In fact that's what I thought drew you here."

"They have a great astrophysics program here," Clay insisted. The look on his face was damn near murderous. "You think you're so high and mighty, but don't try to deny your unnatural obsession with a certain spiky-haired ex-lawyer isn't the reason you're here today."

Luke had never seen someone blush so much or so quickly. "Oh my god, Clay, shut up!" Apollo bellowed. Luke's eyes widened in horror as a good chunk of the professors at the table across from them looked over to glare. For someone so easily embarrassed as Apollo appeared to be, the kid was loud.

Luke caught professor Layton's eye by accident, and looked quickly down, pretending to be engrossed in his soup. Apollo caught the brief exchange and forgot his own embarrassment. "Okay Luke, what's up with you and -"

"Well you have grown a lot, Luke, since I last saw you." Luke jumped up to his feet, accidentally slamming his hand on the table. He rubbed his hand as a distraction while he tried to think of something to say. "Now Luke, you didn't think I'd forgotten about you, did you?"

"N-no, professa'," Luke lied. Layton wasn't angry, however, gracing Luke with a warm smile.

"You two already know each other?" Clay blurted. Apollo kicked him under the table.

"Yes. Luke's father and I were old school friends, and Luke was my apprentice for a short while." Layton crossed his arms, smile fading to a short frown. "Might have done so for longer, had his father allowed it. But I suppose it was for the best, and you're here now."

"You adopted a daughter, didn't you?" Luke had been rooting around his head for something to say to keep the professor from leaving. If he didn't speak now, he might be too shy to do so later. "At a rather curious village, the people were all robots."

The professor laughed. "Oh, I'm surprised you heard about that!"

"How do you mean? Professa', you're famous!"

Layton blushed, tipping his hat between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't know quite about that, Luke," Layton crossed his arms again. "But yes. I have adopted a young girl by the name of Flora. A few years older than you, really. She's visiting London at the moment, but she'll be back soon enough. I think the two of you would quite get along."

Luke couldn't think of anything to say, but was filled with an urge to hug his former mentor. How he managed to withhold himself, he's not sure. "W-well, it's nice being able to see you again, professa'."

"Indeed!" Layton patted Luke's shoulder awkwardly. The past few years in America must have made the older man more adept to touching, but Luke still felt a discomforting warmness spread through his chest. He didn't quite like where this feeling was going. "I look forward to seeing you in class again." The professor tipped his hat to Luke's companions. "Good day," he said, and left.

Clay raised his eyebrows at Luke. Once the professor was out of sight, Luke sat down again. "So," Clay drew out. "Looks like Polly and I aren't the only ones with a secret crush on a much older man." Luke blushed, covering his eyes with his hands.


	3. Chapter 3

It wasn't so much that Apollo didn't want to go to Mr Wright's law class. It was more that he was...

Well, he was absolutely terrified. This was his _hero_ teaching the class. Clay hadn't been exaggerating when he told Luke that all of Apollo's diary entries as a child had been written in the form of letters to one Phoenix Wright. Truth be told, he sometimes still imagined conversations between the two when he felt unsure of himself. He was ashamed, but his hero-worship knew no bounds.

That would have to change now he was about to meet the man in the flesh.

Apollo fidgeted nervously with his jacket and hair. He was beginning to think maybe the horns were a bad idea. Sure, they were his signature, but people wouldn't stop pointing and staring. He swore he even heard a few girls laughing at him.

When Apollo reached the lecture hall (and flattened his hair for the sixtieth time), he surveyed the population of the room. He was a little early, so there were plenty of seats still open. Would he appear too eager if he headed straight to the front row?

A grumpy-looking brunette with a cup of coffee in one hand pushed past him. She had a set of goggles set up on her head and a labcoat draped over her shoulders. She grumbled an apology as she plopped down in the middle of the front row. Apollo followed suite, keeping a seat between them.

A few of the girls in the back giggled. Apollo coloured, feeling self-conscious. They were probably tittering over the teacher, who'd yet to enter the room. He'd been rated highly on ratemyprofessor, and it wasn't just his credentials that earned him that 8.5. Several commentators on the man's profile remarked on his great physique, dreamy dark eyes, and confident smirk. Even a few guys trying to keep up the pretense of heterosexuality made note of how good he looked in a suit.

And here he was, the man himself. Apollo sat up a little straighter and tried not to flush up too much. He knew he was staring, his hands shaking slightly. The red tie, blue suit, spiky black hair -

"Apollo?" Apollo snapped out of his reverie, realizing he had, in fact, been staring. Oh, God. His worst nightmare come to life. Called out by his idol on the first day of class - "Apollo Justice."

 _Wow, his eyes really are the color of coffee... Snap out of it, Apollo!_ "Yes!" he shouted. He tried not to let his boisterous greeting embarrass him. "Y-yes, sir. Professor! Professor Wright. Uhm...yes?"

Phoenix was staring at him, a small smile on his face. "A little nervous are you, Apollo?" Apollo nodded, keeping his mouth shut. "Don't be. I just wanted to say hi."

"Uh -" _Real intelligent, Justice. Use your words._ "Hi, professor." Apollo bit his lip, not caring if he was blatantly starstruck.

The older man laughed - at what, Apollo wasn't sure. "Yeah, hi, Apollo." _What is the point of this conversation?_ "I read your essay - the one you submitted as part of your application for admittance." The look in Professor Wright's eyes was intense. Apollo was breathless.

"Oh - oh?"

Wright nodded, just once. "It was brilliant. Very...perceptive. I hope you bring some of that vigor into the classroom."

"I - I'll try to sir. Professor!"

The professor laughed again. "Calm down, kid. I don't bite." Apollo was too busy blushing to be entirely sure if he imagined the 'unless that's what you're into'.

The professor moved away to stand in front of the girl to Apollo's left. "Ema?" The brunette raised her head and smiled weakly. "Not awake?" Ema grumbled something under her breathe, and put her head back down. "How late were you up last night, working on experiments with Dr Allen?"

Apollo couldn't hear the reply, but the professor was obviously amused. He urged her to speak up, and she snapped loudly in response: "Until six! I only just woke up!"

The class, now full, had gone completely quiet. Professor Wright rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops. Eheh, hello class. Welcome to Law 101! Well, okay, that's not exactly the course title, but I think you get my meaning. Most of you are newbies," Apollo saw him look pointedly at a few kids in the back. "Some of you are not. But that's...that's okay! We're all a little oblivious of the law sometimes, but that's what I'm here for -"

"Guten Tag, Herr Wright." The professor's face fell at the room's new occupant. Ema the grumpy scientist had also sat up straight, and was giving the blonde in the sunglasses a horrific glare. The man pushed the sunglasses on top of his head and winked at Ema. She huffed in reply, turning back to face the front of the room.

"Take a seat, Klavier," Professor Wright said with exasperation. Klavier scooted into the front row, sitting uncomfortably close to Apollo. He looked at Apollo with a raised eyebrow, and Apollo suddenly felt very defensive of his appearance...and a little self-conscious.

"What's with the sweat, Herr Forehead?" Klavier asked. Apollo felt his jaw drop, but couldn't think of a comeback.

"Oh leave him alone, you glimmerous fop," Ema snapped. Her lips were pursed and her arms folded across her chest.

"Oh," Klavier breathed. "Jealous, are we, hm? Fraulein Skye?"

Ema rolled her eyes. "Professor Wright, can we _please_ start class now?"

"Uh," the professor was looking between the three uncomfortable (okay, only two were upset) students in the front row. "Sure, okay. Uhm," he looked around, sticking his hands back in his pockets. Now that he was thrown off, he seemed to be having a little trouble getting focused again. "Well, ah, I know it's pretty corny, but we're going to be spending a semester together. How about a little getting-to-know-you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Apollo spent most of the class trying not to stare too much at his professor - or at the very least, trying not to get caught staring at the professor. He didn't really have much to worry about, as their in-class assignment required working in groups of three that left him with the bickering and oblivious Klavier and Ema. He would have suggested the two kiss and get it over with, if he wasn't afraid of how Ema would respond. Klavier, on the other hand, would have been thrilled. As the two argued over some innocuous detail that was serving more as a metaphor for their personal problems than as an actual example, Apollo took out a sheet of paper and started to write down the names of all the constellations he could remember, drawing their patterns in approximation.

"Getting bored are we, Apollo?" Apollo looked up at his teacher, finding that his earlier apprehension had lessened slightly. Even if he was still a little twitterpated in the man's presence. How could he not be?

Apollo looked over to where Klavier and Ema had been sitting after moving their seats to face Apollo and not each other, only to see that Ema had left to sharpen her pencil. And Klavier, brave but stupid, had followed.

Apollo sighed. "I'm not exactly getting a lot done here, not when they're fighting like that."

Professor Wright sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I know. I can understand where Ema's coming from, though. It's difficult to work with someone after they've broken your trust..."

Apollo wasn't sure what to say in response. The melancholy reply made him suppose his teacher was speaking from personal experience, but it would be inappropriate for him to pry. On the other hand, he was curious about how the professor had come to know of Ema and Klavier's situation.

"They're a year ahead of you," he remarked. "There's a reason they're re-taking this class."

Apollo followed his teacher's gaze, still watching as the two continued to snark at one another, Ema's pencil-sharpening mission forgotten.

"He isn't... He isn't Klavier _Gavin_ , is he?" Apollo asked. "The brother of Kristoph Gavin? the one who gave you forged evidence that almost had you debarred?"

Professor Wright leveled Apollo with a stern look. For a minute, Apollo thought he was going to be scolded for bringing the subject up; when the brief look of anger turned to one of intrigue, he thought his professor might question how he'd come by such knowledge. He was fortunate, however, that Mr Wright merely said, "Yes. That Klavier Gavin."

Apollo nodded. He wanted to say something helpful, or something effective, but nothing came to mind.

The professor shook his head. "But that's not important right now," he continued. "What's important is that you find the break in this statement's logic." Professor Wright took the seat abandoned by Klavier, leaning forward so Apollo could hear him without shouting. "Now, what about this situation seems wrong to you?"

* * *

Luke only had the one archaeology class on Mondays, so when he, Clay and Apollo parted ways outside the cafeteria, Luke headed back to his room. It had been a single when he'd first moved in. Not that it was meant to be; his roommate simply hadn't shown up as of yet. Luke wondered why the other kid was so late to arrive. American schools were quite different from schools back home. They weren't nearly as lenient - or so Luke had heard. But when Luke unlocked the door, he found another boy sitting on the abandoned bed across from his own.

His roommate, it would seem, had arrived.

The other boy was a bit taller than Luke - maybe Apollo's height. He had messy brown hair and a lanky form, and...really, he looked quite a bit like Luke. Perhaps exactly the way Luke would have looked, had he taken after his father more than his mother.

Luke cleared his throat, and his new roommate looked up. "Oh, hello," he said. "I'd been wondering when you'd come back. The wifi is a bit tricky to hack into, and I didn't really feel like putting forth the effort. Would you be so kind as to give me the password?"

Luke was a little dumbstruck. For one, his roommate was English. It wasn't a huge throwoff, but this school wasn't known for a diverse international population. Yet here Luke was, with a UK roommate. For another, this sort of greeting was quite rude in comparison to the way Luke had been raised to greet new people. He could hear Crow's voice in the back of his mind, telling him to check his privilege. But son of the mayor or son of a baker, there were appropriate ways to say hello and inappropriate ways.

This was the latter. "I think you'll have to go to the library to set that up. That's how I found out what mine was - something about your name and student number," Luke said instead of harassing the boy.

His roommate didn't respond verbally, simply nodding his head at the computer screen.

Luke switched weight from one foot to the other. "I'm Luke, by the way," he said. He felt a bit foolish when his roommate didn't immediately respond. "What's your -"

"Clive," his roommate said. "I'm Clive Dove. Engineering major, business minor." Clive closed his laptop and pushed it aside. He jumped off the bed, and pulled on a blue cap similar to Luke's. He gave Luke a once-over before announcing, "I'm going out," and leaving without a further goodbye.

Luke felt a bit insulted. He didn't have any illusions about some sort of instantaneous bonding with his roommate the minute the other boy showed up, but he had to confess to himself at least that he was jealous. Luke had never had many friends, and as an only child he wasn't accustomed to sharing space - or anything else, for that matter. He was willing to give it a shot, but he didn't know how he'd cope with a roommate so cold.

He wanted what Clay and Apollo had - whatever you'd call that bond. He'd learned to be more open with the kids of Misthallery, but as they aged, Arianna became more interested in flirtatious pursuits that had no effect on Luke. And the Black Ravens - well, they were kids of poverty, and Luke was the mayor's son. Luke found ways to bond with animals, but it couldn't make up for the human contact of which he'd been deprived.

Luke toughened up. He had to. It wasn't that his father was unsupportive, but he didn't really know how to deal with Luke's "eccentricities", as he called them. He had to know his son was gay, but it was not something he'd ever made an attempt to talk to Luke about. Luke thought his mum would understand, but when they divorced and she moved overseas...

She lived in America, and Clark - Luke's father - thought that was part of the draw of an American university. Clark always held that Luke blamed him for the separation, when in truth Luke blamed himself. As though his parents would have been able to work things out if he himself hadn't been such a queer child - in both meanings of the word.

Luke locked the door to his lonesome dorm room and pushed himself up onto the raised bed. He let the hat slide off his head as he laid back slowly, arms floating out to the sides. But this technique wasn't working anymore, and Luke rolled onto his side. He knew it was going to cause him immense physical pain in the morning, but despite his past experiences, Luke brought his knees to his chin, hugging his calves tight to his chest. And for the first time since Luke was ten and his parents wouldn't let him leave to be with the first person he'd ever considered a friend, Luke cried.


	5. Chapter 5

Luke didn't even wait a full week to get and fill out a change of adviser form. Mr Grossberg was a nice man, but he was a law professor. Grossberg just happened to have that section of the alphabet. He didn't even appear to recognize Luke, just mumbled something about the scent of fresh lemons as he signed the sheet. Luke shared an eyeroll with Clay as he went in to get a form signed as well.

"Where are we meeting Polly again?" Clay asked.

Luke struggled with his messenger bag, or at least pretended to. All he wanted was to avoid Clay's eyes and hide the blush that tinged his cheeks. "King Hall," Luke replied. "He's getting something signed by professor Sycamore, and I need to turn this paper into professor Layton anyway..."

Clay shook his head, but didn't say anything back.

Apollo looked disgruntled when Clay and Luke caught up with him. The fringe that normally stood up at the top of his head was starting to droop. "Hey, did you guys know about his legendary rivalry with professor Layton?" Luke shook his head. Apollo sighed. "He was muttering about the Layton when I went in, and he was still muttering when I left. It was a little creepy."

Apollo huffed his cheeks puffing out as he straightened the paper in his hand. Luke peeked over his hands to discover a change of adviser form, just like the ones he and Clay recently had signed.

Clay nudged Apollo with his elbow. "You gonna ask professor Wright?" Clay waggled his eyebrows to add to the suggestion.

Apollo frowned. "I don't know."

"What?" Luke sputtered. "But isn't he your hero? Why wouldn't you?"

Apollo sighed again. "Would that only lead to disappointment? I hear you get to know your advisers pretty well - that they're not just there for academic support -"

"Don't be such a dope, Apollo," Clay responded. He was frowning in concern. "Sure, you get to see the man as a real human being, but couldn't that be a good thing too?"

"Yeah, I guess," Apollo admitted. They stopped in front of Layton's office, waiting for Luke to go in.

"What's the matter Luke? Don't you want your hero to be your adviser?" Clay teased.

"Shut up," Luke snapped, cheeks coloring. "It's different."

He snorted. "How? How is this any different than Apollo's _raison d'etre_?"

Apollo shook his head. "You are not using that phrase in the right way, man."

Clay shrugged. "Whatever," he leaned down to Luke's level. "It's not like you gotta suck the man's dick or anything."

"Clay!" Luke shouted. In the shock, he nearly ripped the paper in two. His voice echoed through the hallway. The disruption angered teachers, slamming their doors shut in retaliation. Picking the worst timing ever, Layton popped his head out of his office.

"Ah, Luke! Do you have something for me?"

Luke had been expecting Clay to chime in with something inappropriate (and the resulting kick to his shin from Apollo), but none came. Luke looked around him, to see his friends had vanished. He was half relieved...and half annoyed. "Well - yes, professor."

Layton beckoned him in. Although the top hat was still in place, his jacket was draped around his chair and his sleeves were pushed up. His office was a little warm for fall, and Luke found himself fidgeting with the hem of his sweater. Layton closed the door gently enough, but the click of the door against the frame made Luke jump anyway. "Are you alright?" the professor asked. He was leaning with his forearms on his thighs. "You seem distressed."

"I - I'm okay, professor," Luke said. "I just - my friends left so abruptly, I was a bit confused. That's all." Luke managed a thin smile, and hoped it would be enough to placate the professor.

Layton straightened his hat. "Ah. If you say so, Luke." The professor leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. He folded his hands in his lap. "So, what was it you wanted to discuss?"

"Daddy," a voice broke through. There was a quick knock at the door before it was pushed open. "I've been - oh." The girl who entered was prim, proper, in a frilly pink dress. It almost looked like a costume. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony-tail with a bit a fringe hanging in her face, obscuring one of her large eyes.

"Ah, Flora!" Layton had stood up to embrace her. She gave her father a quick peck on the cheek, never taking her eyes off of Luke. "I've been hoping the two of you would meet. Luke, this is Flora, my daughter." Luke remembered his manners, standing up and brushing imaginary dirt from his trousers before offering Flora his hand. Hers was small and soft, and for the first time Luke felt tall. "Flora, this is Luke Triton. Do you remember me telling you about him, and our adventure in Misthallery?"

Flora nodded, clasping her hands behind her back. "You're rather taller than in your pictures, Luke," she commented.

"My...pictures?"

"Oh, yes!" she piped up. "The professor keeps a scrapbook - Daddy, you should show it to him sometime!" She bounced on the balls of her feet, cheery smile on her face. But despite the cordial impression she'd been giving Luke, there was something off about her. Luke zoned out for a minute, trying to sort out what it was. Then, he saw it: a bite mark on her neck, close up to her ear.

"Luke?" Luke blinked, attention drawn back to the professor. "What was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Oh, ah -" he held out his form. "It's - well, it's a change of adviser form. And would - well, I was wondering - would you -"

"Sign it?" the professor provided.

"...yes," Luke mumbled, blush spreading on his face.

"Well of course, my boy!" he smiled, slipping the form from Luke's hands. He scrawled his messy signature over the line quickly, handing it back to Luke. "Now, if you will excuse me, Flora and I must have a series conversation about her schooling." Luke only nodded numbly, surprised at how well the conversation had gone. But as he shook his tired legs to regain feeling and trotted from the room, he caught Flora's suspicous eyes, touching the bite mark on her neck.


	6. Chapter 6

Apollo insisted that he and Clay wait for Luke to emerge from Layton's office before they headed off to their next destination. Clay was getting impatient, knees bouncing up and down as he sat on the couch. "It's kind of hot in here, isn't it?" he asked

Apollo shook his head. "You're wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a heavy jacket and the heat is on in here." Apollo narrowed his eyes, looking at the patch on the shoulder of Clay's jacket. "Why are you even wearing that thing right now?"

"What thing?" 

His attempts at lying never fooled Apollo - he could read all of Clay's tells. They'd known each other for too long. He squinted, eyes focusing on the small beads of sweat and the way Clay's thumb minutely twitched in anxiety. "You're nervous," Apollo said with a smirk.

"No I'm not!" Clay snapped. "I'm not nervous at all. Nervous about what?"

"Gee, I don't know," Apollo sighed sarcastically. "Maybe you don't have quite as much bravado as you pretend to, and you actually are a little terrified at the idea of asking your hero-worship god-idol teacher thing to be your adviser."

"I don't know whAT YOU'Re talking about." Clay blushed at the sound of his own voice cracking, coughing and averting his eyes.

"Uh-huh. And who was it that taught you how to lie, Clay?"

"Oh shut up," he grumbled.

Luke came upon them as Apollo was laughing and Clay was running his hands through his hair. Luke's neck was a little red, and he was attempting to neatly fold up his request form and shove it back in the messenger back he had slung around his shoulder. Clay stood up as he approached, but he was no longer bouncing. Instead he held his astrophysics textbook tightly, held close against his chest. He was still grumbling under his breath as he lead the other two out of the hall.

"So how'd it go?" Apollo asked Luke.

Luke shrugged, willing the anxiety to slide off like water from his skin. "It went okay."

"I take it he said yes?" Luke wasn't looking at him, though, his head turned to watch a slender brunette girl in a pink dress disappear around the corner. "Uh, Luke?" he asked, nudging his friend.

Luke frowned. "There's something about that girl," he said.

"Who is she?"

"Professor Layton's daughter."

"Wait, prof Layton has a daughter?" Clay turned, walking backwards. His eyebrows were raised, curiosity piqued. "I always had him pegged as asexual or something."

"She's adopted," Luke explained. "It was one of his big adventures. One that I should have... been there for," he finished lamely. He sighed, fidgeting with the strap of his bag.

"What exactly happened there?" Apollo asked. "He said you were his apprentice, for a time, and that your dad wouldn't let you go on?"

Luke shrugged, uncomfortable. He wanted to be open, to get to know these people he called friends, but it was still a bit of a sore subject. "They had a falling out, of sorts. I think m' dad was jealous, really," he sighed. 

"Was he not as successful?" Clay prompted.

Luke snorted. "He's the mayor of the town we live in. Success isn't really his problem - although I do think he regrets giving up archaeology for politics."

"So it runs in the family?"

Luke shrugged. "Sort of. My mum was more into history, but she dabbled a little. She wasn't real fond of dad's political decision either. If it had been up to her, she'd have liked to send me with the professa' -" Luke blushed at the slip. He hadn't called him that in a long time. "With professor Layton."

"So what was the argument about?"

Luke bit his lip. "My parents weren't really gettin' along in the time I spent with the pro- with professor Layton. They were going to try and make it work, but when I came back and asked to continue adventuring, they had a big argument about that. I think... I think my dad thought I liked professor Layton better than I liked him. Mum wanted to let me go on, if it'd make me happy, but dad was insistent that I stay." He paused, looking down. "I don't think they've spoken since."

"Wow," Clay said. "That's - I'm really."

Luke shrugged. He was determined not to cry about this. He wasn't a little kid anymore. "It's alright, just annoying, you know, parents usin' you as a pawn t' get back a' each other." He wiped his nose, cursing the accent that became stronger with his level of stress.

"Sorry to say this Luke, but uh," he looked up. Apollo was flattening his hair again. Luke wondered why he didn't just leave it as it was in the morning instead of gelling it - now that he was certain Apollo was, in fact, doing it on purpose. "We don't... we don't have mothers."

"Wha'?"

"I've got a dad," Clay offered. "But my mom died when we were in, like, middle school. That's actually how Apollo and I got so close." Clay smiled, genuinely, and wrapped an arm around Apollo's shoulders. "He's always been there for me."

Apollo blushed, but smiled anyway. "Clay's always been there for me, too."

"That's nice," Luke commented. He felt awkward, and hoped they wouldn't ask him about friends back home. And he was lucky - they didn't have the time. They'd reached the science building, and Clay was seizing up with nerves again, Apollo and Luke cheering him on.

* * *

Apollo did not agree to go and talk to professor Wright, but that's exactly where Apollo was being dragged - not kicking, but internally screaming. Clay's confidence was back, and it was like he'd never had a doubt in his mind about anything. 

"I told you, I haven't made up my mind yet," Apollo said through clenched teeth. He had the form in his hand, though he couldn't remember putting it there. He was almost certain Clay had searched his pockets for the thing, and if he hadn't known Clay for almost ten years he'd feel violated. "I might go for professor Edgeworth -"

Clay snorted. "That's ridiculous. I may not have a perfect memory, but I do remember your trading card days -"

"THOSE WEREN'T TRADING CARDS -"

"Shhhh - whatever. Point is, I remember you telling me Edgeworth is a prosecutor. You want to be a defense attorney. The head of the department is a defense attorney. That defense attorney is one professor Phoenix Wright. Why wouldn't you want him to be your adviser? It makes sense," Clay stressed.

Apollo sighed. Clay had a pointed, and he hated that. He knew Clay was doing it for his own good, but he sometimes wished he was a little...calmer. A little less exuberant. But the difference was what made them great friends. "Alright," he grumbled. Clay cheered, clapping him on the back. He heard Luke wish him good luck as he approached the office of his mentor, his idol -

And a little girl popped her head out. She couldn't have been more than ten or eleven, with short brown hair and a top hat not unlike professor Layton's. When she saw Apollo, she covered her mouth and giggled, before clearing her throat and asking, "Would you like to see a magic trick?"

Apollo blinked rapidly. He looked over his shoulder to where his friends stood, giving him confused looks. Apollo looked back to the girl, her hands behind her back and bouncing on her heels. "Uh," he said. "Okay?"

"Alright," she clapped. "Now watch...closely..." The girl did a series of obscure hand movements before standing on her toes to reach behind Apollo's ear. From behind Apollo's ear, she drew an ace of spades. "Was this your card?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"Uh," Apollo blinked. "I don't - I never drew a card?"

"Huh?" she seemed confused. She frowned, counting something on her fingers. She gasped. "Oh, I know what I forgot to do -"

"Trucy, are you showing off again?" Professor Wright walked up behind the girl, smiling and shaking his head. He looked up a bit, to smile at Apollo. "Oh, hey Apollo. I see you've met my daughter, Trucy?"

Apollo thought he might vomit. _What? A daughter?_ "Uh - y-yeah -"

"I was trying to show him a magic trick," she said, turning to face her father. "But I kinda messed it up." She held her hands against her chest, crestfallen. 

"It's okay. You can try again another time. But now," he frowned. "I think it's time for you get going. You have homework to finish, and professor Layton has been kind enough to offer his assistance."

She sighed. "Yes, daddy." Apollo watched as she retrieved her items from professor Wright's office and hurried off to King Hall. 

Once she was gone, the professor shook his head. "Sorry about that. She has such big dreams of being a magician. Kinda like the rest of her family."  _What? The rest of her family?_ Apollo looked even more confused, brows furrowing together to form a single entity. The professor laughed, shoulders shaking and eyes closed. Apollo mentally kicked himself for the internal gushing. "Sorry, I keep leaving out the small part that she's my daughter by adoption."

"Oh," Apollo said flatly. "Isn't that what professor Layton did?" 

"Yeah," he smiled. "He's actually been helping me out a bit. He's been raising Flora for longer than I've been raising Trucy, so he's gotten used to the multi-tasking." The professor rubbed the back of his head. "Now that you're here, actually, I've got a question for you."

"Oh?" Apollo was really lost now.

"Yeah. Why don't you step into my office?" It took Apollo a moment to realize the man was waiting for a signal of understanding. He tried not to blush as he nodded, following the older man back. 

His office was...unique. He hadn't been back here before, and the professor's offices he had entered were all neatly organized (although Layton, he was informed by Luke, had to hire an assistant to organize things for him, as he was often too scatterbrained to remember to do so himself). The books on his shelf didn't even all pertain to law - at least three of them were comic books, and on the floor next to his desk was a stack of DVDs - all of them for a kid's show. The professor sat down at his desk, and gestured for Apollo to sit opposite him. He ran his hand through his hair as Apollo watched.

"Uh, sir," he began uncomfortably. "What was it you wanted -?"

"Oh! Right. Wright! Haha!" Apollo rolled his eyes. "I was wondering if there's any chance I could ask you to be my advisee."

Apollo's heart skipped a beat. "Wha- What?"

"Yeah, I know, it's a little unorthodox." The professor was messing with some stuff on his desk. Apollo followed the movements, and tried to make sense of why the man, famous and highly revered, would be nervous to ask _him_ anything. But nonetheless, his tells were showing - the slight twitch of his blazer sleeve, touching a finger ever so slightly to his hairline. "But to be honest, I'm very impressed."

"By me?" Apollo spluttered.

The professor laughed a bit, and Apollo found himself a little more at ease. _What's going on here?_ "Yeah. I wasn't kidding when I said I really liked your admittance essay. And - don't tell anyone else, but at the moment you're the only one passing my law course."

"Really?"

"Mmm. So I was hoping there's a way I could give you my signature before Edgeworth or Franny got to you?"

Apollo never said yes to something so fast in his life.


	7. Chapter 7

Layton frowned, spreading the stack of papers over the surface of his desk. It wasn't Emmy's fault he couldn't find anything, because he didn't know where any of it was before she cleaned up either. He had Post-It notes stuck almost permanently to the wood, leaving sticky stains when he finally peeled them off. Unfortunately Emmy had used nail polish remover to get the grey gunk off the desk, and it had not only discolored the desk but made it impossible for new Post-Its to stick. Thus he was stuck in a comedy loop of flipping through the papers for his lesson plan and bending over to pick his reminders up off the floor. The eighth time he reached down he felt the hat fall from his head and roll away. 

" _Shit_ ," he swore softly. He covered his mouth almost immediately, as swearing was rather unconventional for him. He was steadying himself to reach out and take it when he saw a small hand pick it up for him, following the brown shoes up to Luke's face. "Ah -" He felt a turn in his stomach like guilt at the notion that he'd just sworn in front of his student. It didn't matter that Luke was now a university student; he would always be a ten year-old boy in Layton's head. He blushed, tugging at the fringe of his hair as he remembered, awkward, dully, that the hat that normally received the gesture had fallen off his head. Luke looked a little surprised, but didn't say anything, simply handing the hat over.

"Class 's about t' start, professa'," Luke said. "Clay said it was my turn t' come and get you."

"Ah," Layton repeated the tic, adjusting the hat on his head. "Yes, well," he cleared his throat and frowned. "I can't seem to find -"

"There you are, professor!" Luke turned so his back was to the desk, looking at the woman who'd just pushed her way into the room. She was as tall as Luke remembered, with long-ish brown hair and brown eyes. She had one hand on her hip, a stack of papers in her other hand. She was still wearing that yellow jacket and pink bow tie, but she looked at him and smiled in a way that said she didn't remember Luke nearly as well. "Hello!" she said to him with a small smile.

"Thank you, Emmy," the professor said, an eyebrow raised. "But don't tell me you don't remember Luke?"

Emmy frowned, blinked, and then did a dramatic turn around with a gasp. "No!" she blurted. "But you're so much taller!"

Luke smiled awkwardly as Emmy wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. "That does tend to 'appen in a decade, Miss Altava."

Emmy snorted. "I guess technically that's Mrs. Grosky, but I haven't gone and changed my name." 

Luke frowned. "Wasn't that the police chap who -"

"Daddy, I need to talk to you about -" Flora had nearly run straight into Emmy, not looking where she was going in her rush to talk to the professor. She blinked around, realizing that she was interrupting something of a reunion. Her face turned a dark shade of red. "Oh. Hello, er, Luke," she swallowed. There was something unpleasant to her look, and Luke wondered if she wasn't as fond of Emmy as Luke had been when he was younger and they were a team. "Emmy," she grumbled. 

"I'm awfully sorry, my dear," he said, spreading his arms. "But I must get to my class - could we discuss this later?" Flora sighed and didn't answer, turning on her heels to leave.

Emmy had managed to brush off Flora's anger easily, not acknowledging her entrance or retreat or even Layton's disappointed sigh as the young woman did so. She squeezed Luke's shoulders quickly and the knocked the brim of his pageboy cap. "Following in the professor's footsteps, are we, Luke?"

Layton smiled, seeming genuinely touched at the idea. "Now Emmy, I'm sure Luke has his own reasons for pursuing archaeology -"

"Why wouldn't you want to when you have Indian Jones as your professor?" she winked at Luke and he held back a snort, trying not to imagine the professor in brown fedora, whip in hand and shirt ripped open. On impulse he reached up to loosen his collar, feeling a little warm. He hoped Emmy hadn't noticed, but he didn't look up to meet her eyes, either. 

Layton frowned at her, crossing his arms. "None of our - what did you call them, 'adventures?' - have been that dangerous, have they?" Emmy simply laughed and turned on heel. "I have some more errands to run," she shouted over her shoulder. "I'll catch up with you later - don't go messing up the progress I've made on your office!"

Luke smiled after her, smile wavering as he felt his nerves rise, realizing he was alone with the professor. Softly, behind him, the older man asked, "Are you okay, my boy?"

"I'm fine!" Luke shouted. He blushed, realizing the verbal tic he'd picked up from his friend. Layton was smiling, but didn't look totally convinced. "It's just - we should - get going, yeah?" The professor nodded, gesturing to his door and ushering Luke out of his office and into the classroom. 

* * *

 

It was difficult for Apollo to pay attention in archaeology. He liked it, and it was interesting, but the professor had a bad habit of veering off topic in a way that made taking notes incredibly difficult. He often found himself starting off the class by writing down the date and topic of discussion, only to find that most of his notes were just scribbles as he tried to figure out the answer to the professor's all-too-frequent puzzles. About forty-five minutes into the class and he'd given up, listen but doodling in his notebook. 

Clay never even bothered to start, working on Latin translations in his lap under his desk and nodding at random in an attempt to make it look like he was paying attention. It was kind of funny, but it was really lucky for Clay that professor Layton was too oblivious to notice that only a few students were really paying attention. He'd heard horror stories about the rival professor, Desmond Sycamore, and how nasty he could turn if he realized you were goofing off or slacking. Professor Wright wasn't mean - not like professor Edgeworth who would, in his sonorous and monotonous tone, read your texts, or professor Von Karma who would simply whip her, uh, whip, out on those unfortunate enough to get caught doing anything other than taking notes and giving her their absolute attention. He did, however, have quite a few fantastic expressions that made one student whisper to her friend as they left, "It felt like I was back home, being scolded by my dad!"

Which, Apollo supposed, made sense. Phoenix Wright was a dad, although that was still such a strange thought to him.

As Layton continued his lesson, Apollo clicked his mechanical pencil and began to doodle in the margins of his notes - anything to keep the afternoon tiredness and caffeine crash from lulling him to sleep. He drew what he imagined Luke probably looked like on these adventures when he was younger, drew Trucy Wright (what he could remember of her, he'd still only seen her once) in a magician's outfit - and then drew himself in a similar one, suddenly struck with the vision of her forcing him into being a part of her act. He drew professor Wright as a younger man, cheeks coloring up as he let his mind wander, thinking about...

"Apollo, dude, class is over." Apollo made an odd sqwaking noise, slamming his notebook cover over to hide what he'd been drawing. Clay was smirking at him, but Luke had his arms crossed.

"That's actually pretty accurate," Luke remarked. "Although you did make me a bit too short -"

"Doubt it," Clay sang. Luke frowned, swatting him on the arm. 

"How long have I been spacing out?" Apollo blushed, gathering up his stuff with a loud blush on his face. 

"About ten minutes," Clay said. Then, he reached up, scratching the back of his head. "I think."

"Nobody noticed," Luke said, following the taller two out of the classroom. "What were you thinking about, though?"

"Ten bucks says it was Mr. Wright and how _dreamy he is_ -"

"Shut it!" Apollo snapped. "Geez, I don't talk about you crush on Starbuck all the time, why are you always picking on me?"

"I don't know, 'cause you're cute when you blush?" Clay shrugged. Apollo shook his head, glaring at the floor. And, like Flora earlier, he collided straight into someone as he was lost in his thoughts. "Fuck!"

"Ach! Watch the language, mein Freund. There are children about, ja?" Apollo looked up in shock at the blue eyes of Klavier Gavin. Klavier Gavin was smirking at him, winking quickly and flirtatiously.

But Apollo still had the memory in his mind of Klavier bitching back and forth with Ema during class, making it difficult for him to concentrate. (Well, that and his older brother's indiscretion that nearly got their professor fired, but that was something different altogether.) "What children?" Apollo grumbled. Klavier looked quickly to Luke, who made a litany of strange noises and faces in indignity and frustration.

Clay simply raised his eyebrows. "Apollo, who is this?"

Apollo could have rolled his eyes and nearly did. His lifelong crush on professor Starbuck wasn't going to keep him from dating nearly every guy - or girl, for that matter, he wasn't picky - who came along. Apollo sighed deeply - Klavier wasn't his type, personally, and he wasn't overly fond of the dirty talk that normally came along with Clay's crush of the week. "Clay Terran, this is Klavier Gavin, he's a -"

"Rock star!" Luke interjected. 

"Really?" Clay smiled, reaching a hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, charming smile in place.

Klavier took Clay's hand and kissed it. "Nein, the pleasure is all mine," he purred. 

Apollo could feel himself starting to sympathize with Ema. 


End file.
